Intellectual Property in India

Following the UK and India signing a free-trade agreement in May 2025, we expect an ever-increasing amount of interest from UK companies in seeking intellectual property in India. Already, India is the 7th most common territory outside of the UK where we are asked to obtain IP protection for our clients (after Europe/EU, the US, China, Japan, Australia and Canada).

In this article, we set out some key pointers about intellectual property law in India, from the perspective of our UK and European clients.

Patents

- Patents can be obtained in India either through direct applications or as the national phase of an international (PCT) application. Applications are usually filed in English (Hindi is another option).

- As well as the filing of a patent application, there is a separate stage of requesting examination. In 2024, the deadline for requesting examination of a PCT application was brought forward to 31 months from the earliest priority date, and so examination is usually now required to be requested on national phase entry.

- As part of the application procedure, it is twice necessary to submit information about corresponding patent applications filed in other countries by completing a “Form 3”.

- It is often possible to have already obtained a granted patent in another country, such as Europe or the US, before a first examination report is received in India. Frequently, applicants seek the same protection in India that they have already received elsewhere and, frequently, this is allowed.

- Accordingly, the Indian patent examination process, although quite slow, is usually relatively low cost compared to territories such as Europe, the US, Japan, China etc.

- Unlike most other countries, it is necessary to submit a Working Statement (Form 27) every 3 years. If the invention is not being worked in India, the applicant must explain why.

- Unlike in Europe, it is not possible to obtain patent protection for a new use or new form of a known compound/composition unless it provides an enhancement of the known efficacy.

Trade Marks

- You can apply for trade mark protection in India by making a direct application at the Indian Intellectual Property Office.

- Indian trade mark law is mainly aligned with the requirements of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS, 1994). Therefore, the India trade mark regime resembles the UK regime in many ways when it comes to registrability conditions and procedures.

- As in the UK, unregistered rights are protected under the principles of common law and passing off.

- There are some exceptions to registration which are specific to India. Section 13 of the Trade Marks Act of 1999, for instance, prevents the registration of words which are the commonly used and accepted names of any single chemical element or any single chemical compound (as distinguished from a mixture) in respect of a chemical substance or preparation. It also prevents the registration of a word which would have been declared by the World Health Organisation as an International Non-Proprietary Name (INN), or which is deceptively similar to such name. Moreover, Indian case law has confirmed that words stemming from the name of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) or from a disease or a condition’s name present weak distinctiveness for the purpose of registration, meaning they are more likely to run into issues.These exceptions make sense considering that the sector of pharmaceuticals is one of India’s biggest industries.

- Since 2013, India is also a member of the Madrid Protocol which means that you can also obtain trade mark protection through the international route. Using the Madrid Protocol allows you to apply for trade mark protection in multiples countries through one and only application, which can result in significant cost savings for your business when developing your international trade mark strategy.

Designs

- A design application may be filed in India directly or as a convention application, within 6 months of the priority date.

- Design applications are examined for novelty in India.

- Currently, India has a 6-month grace period in which applicants may file a design application after a first disclosure, without the disclosure being considered prejudicial to the validity of registration. This is only available if: the design is disclosed, used, or published in an exhibition notified by the government; the exhibitor exhibiting the design or article gives prior notice to the controller of designs; and the application for the design is filed within six months of the first exhibition of the design. (This may change to 12 months when the Design Law Treaty comes into force).

- A design is registered as of the date of filing the application and is valid for 10 years from registration. This can be extended for up to 5 years upon payment of a renewal fee.

- It is possible to request information regarding a known design registration by filing Form 6 along with the prescribed fee.

- An applicant can also obtain information as to whether a design has been previously registered when the registration number is not known by Filing Form 7 along with the prescribed fees.

- There is a statutory time for acceptance of a design application of 6 months from filing. This may be extended by up to 3 months on request and on payment of a fee.

At Hindles we work with Indian patent and trade mark attorneys to obtain protection there for our clients based in the UK and Europe. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.